9-1-1, What’s Your Emergency?: A Chat with Pete Landon

Often taken for granted, the three-digit Universal Emergency Number 9-1-1 on your phone has saved countless lives since its inception in the late 1960s.

But where does that call go?

In Kent County, the calls are received two floors under the Kent County Services building on Vickers Drive, in a darkened room where service operators monitor a room flickering with video feeds and waiting around the clock for the next plea for help.

Director Pete Landon is at the helm of this life-saving service, a figure who understands the critical importance of his role. His decisions and his operations can be the difference between life and death. Calls received under his watch are immediately routed to various county emergency services, including police, fire, and medical personnel, to coordinate an effective response.

Landon has spent his life serving Maryland communities, primarily as a Maryland State Trooper, where he first began to know and appreciate Kent County as part of MSP’s detachment there.

Retiring after thirty years as a lieutenant colonel at MSP, Landon decided to continue his engagement with the community by applying for an open position at the County Emergency Services. He brings with him decades of experience in community safety and first-hand knowledge of the county.

Landon says that while he is proud of the emergency service network, he is concerned with the lack of volunteerism to fill positions at the call center, medical, and fire services. He’s currently seeking solutions to that shortfall by suggesting a high-school, credit-based program that would teach young people about the services while offering a career path.

The Spy recently interviewed Pete Landon about his life, the 9-1-1 services, and his hope for a greater sense of volunteerism.

The Kent County Office of Emergency Services is located at 104 Vickers Drive. They may be contacted at 410-778-124 or emailed at [email protected].

The video is approximately nine minutes in length.